Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October/ November 2019 | Page 54

RESIDENCY PROGRAMMES
Citizenship by
investment
SPONSORED
Choosing the right programme
Buying an investment property to gain citizenship
in another country is becoming increasingly
popular for South Africans. Property specialist and
founder of Hurst & Wills, Lisa Bathurst, explains
what to look out for.
BY INKY DRESNER
H
urts & Wills has seen a 400% increase in enquiries
about investment properties for citizenship this year.
“Globally, more than $2.4 billion is spent on it each
year, mostly from China, the Middle East and Russia. Now
we are seeing South Africans getting onto the bandwagon,”
says Bathurst.
“People have an array of different reasons for considering
this option, from security and better education to tax benefits
and travel freedom,” she says.
“Essentially, having a good investment that earns and grows
in a strong currency is a good enough reason to consider it
and there are lots of programmes out there that will combine
citizenship with your investment,” she says.
Each citizenship-
with-investment
programme has
its own set of pros
Portugal
and cons that one
Cyprus
must understand
America
and weigh up,
before buying,”
Mauritius
says Bathurst.
Caribbean
“Is it better to
buy property in
Turkey or Greece,
or get a passport by purchasing assets in Moldova? The answer
depends on your wealth strategy and your citizenship ideals,”
she says.
Hurst & Will top markets
for citizenship property:
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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
“Is it better to buy property in
Turkey or Greece, or get a passport
by purchasing assets in Moldova?
The answer depends on your wealth
strategy and your citizenship ideals,”
“If you are not going to relocate soon or you want the
property as a Plan B option, it often makes more sense to
purchase a good investment rather than the perfect ‘home’. As
property specialists, we believe that it’s important to recognise
the difference between buying a property for citizenship and
buying an asset,” says Bathurst.
“The benefit of owning investment property abroad is that it
allows South Africans to benefit from global growth and build
wealth in strong currency as a Rand hedge,” says Bathurst.
“It also offers a safe and stable ‘Plan B’ for investors and their
dependents.
“The Caribbean and South America have programmes that
offer access to the US. The images of white sandy beaches and
cabanas on the brochures look very seductive. However, you’ll
notice that some of them offer hurricane discounts - and that
should be a warning,” she says.
In the US, the popular EB-5 option has been in the press
regularly lately due to the impending rise of capital required
to apply, going from $500,000 to $900,000 in November. “It is